An Attempt to Hit the White Ball Straight

One of the hardest things to do for amateur golfers is to get power with a full swing while not dipping or dropping one’s head. For years, Tiger Woods fought the problem of dipping his head with his driver swing. If you can time it just right, it gives you amazing power but if you get caught at the top of your backswing it is going to cause you to miss a ton of fairways. So, should you dip your head when you come down with your driver swing?

When asked about head movements in the golf swing I always suggest as little as possible. I would rather lose the power and maintain the accuracy. As an amateur golfer you likely are not going to play courses over 7000 yards. If you are, move up a tee box and make your life significantly easier.

In the fall of 2016 I tried to add about 25 yards to my driver while sacrificing accuracy. Prior to the change, I hit over 75% of fairways. For two weeks, while adding distance, I shot 88, 92, 91 and 87. It was painful trying to play form the rough and fairway bunkers.

As soon as I went back to my shorter, more accurate swing with less head movement I shot 76, 79, 82 (tips) and 78. As you can clearly see, accuracy is much more important than distance.

Here is an extreme case of someone dipping their head with their driver swing:

While I am certain this individual can outdrive me, I am 100% positive I can beat him up and down the course with my accuracy.

Focus on your irons and wedge game and keep the driver in the fairway and you will be just fine. When someone jokes about your distance make it a point to tell him how great a birdie feels after you walk off the par 5 having laid up and wedged to tap in.